Regret, Rescue, and Return
by KikoTehEevee
Summary: What was going on in Kirigiri's mind during the last trial? This story tells you about what she felt about her actions and what happened with her above Naegi's trashy prison. But when she goes to save him, what does he think? Naegiri fluff.
1. Recklessness

"Didn't Naegi find the key to the locker with the weapon inside?"

The class trial for the murder of Mukuro Ikusaba was in session. The six remaining students had been debating the culprit when Monokuma called "Time's up!" when Naegi found the class trial suspicious compared to the previous ones. I was being framed for the murder when my mind shut down into a panicked fight to save myself.

"There is a possibility that he left it in my room to make me look guilty." I continued calmly, unable to think about what I was saying.

"W-What are you..." Naegi turned to me, confused and frantic for an explanation.

"Since I can't enter my room, that is the only plausible explanation." I finished, my mind desperate to place the blame on someone else.

"Th-Then doesn't that make Naegi the culprit?!" Fukawa cried.

"No..." Naegi took a step back, unable to understand what was happening to him.

"Now then, let's get this ball rolling!" Monokuma cried, raising a fist in the air.

"It wasnt me guys!" Naegi cried, hysterically trying to show he's innocent.

I placed my hand onto the button of Naegi's sprite and pressed it. Then I froze. I had just voted Naegi guilty. My mind snapped out of its fit of desperation to realize what I had done.

The slot machine began to spin. The faces of the current and deceased students spun rapidly, until they finally slowed down and lined up to Naegi. Coins flew out the bottom as if you had won the jackpot and flowers flew out the sides as they always did if we got the right answer.

I ducked my head, ashamed, as I realized what I had done. _No... What have I done?!_ I thought, my mind rattling into despair._ Naegi, I'm so sorry!_ I wanted to cry out to him, but I kept quiet, struggling to keep my iron mask on.

Naegi stood, frozen in shock at the answer. "N-No way..." he muttered, partially to himself, "T-There's something fishy about this trial...!" He stood up and leaned over the railing of his trial stand. "This is messed up!" He shouted, small tears welding into the corners of his eyes, "What's with this 'Time up' stuff?! Say something, Monokuma!"

"Well, shall we get going?" Monokuma cheered, spinning on one paw in his chair, ignoring Naegi completely, "On to the exciting and thrilling Punishment Time!"

Naegi stared in despair, unable to scream or say anything.

Monokuma grabbed the small gavel and slammed it on the big red button that appeared out of the ground. The screen under it read "Naegi was found guilty" as a Monokuma sprite walked up towards the Naegi sprite in the middle. Suddenly, the Naegi sprite was being dragged by the neck with Monokuma pulling him, and the phrase "Time for his punishment" read underneath.

I stared in horror at Naegi as a metal claw came out of a door and grabbed him by the neck like what happened with Kuwata. It dragged him towards the torturous punishment room. Everyone was forced to follow, although I was defiant to watch my friend and my crush die in the depths of despair, all because of me.

Naegi was stuck to a chair, a classroom desk in front of him, as he was going slowly down a long conveyer belt. Behind him, a large piston was slamming down to the ground and slowly rising again to repeat the cycle. He slowly came closer and closer when Monokuma rolled up on a platform with a chalkboard and podium in front of him, wearing round, circular glasses and a red tie. On the board read "Beginning of Life", "Ovulation", "Fertilization", "Implantation". How typical of Monokuma to teach about the beginning of life when Naegi's was about to end.

I stood rigid as I watched hopelessly. Naegi came closer and closer to the giant piston, every smash to the ground below shaking my heart into smaller fragments. I wanted to cry out to stop, feeling the pain Ishimaru must have to see his best friend tortured to death, but I held my tongue. I could feel tears build up into my eyes and my face broke as he became only a few feet towards death. I bit my lip hard, almost piercing it to bleed with the desolation of my anguish. A tear slowly streamed down my face. I couldn't stop it, my iron mask was breaking. I quickly wiped it away to hide my weak form.

Naegi was within one foot of the piston, his eyes shut and braced for pain. Suddenly, the gears jammed and Alter Ego appeared on the television screen above. Naegi opened his eyes as he realized something had gone wrong. He looked up as the platform behind him opened like two trap doors and he soon fell down into a dark hole.

I stared in shock at what had just happened. Alter Ego, their helpful A.I. and friend, had saved Naegi from his death.

Monokuma slammed his paws onto the podium. "Huh? What's this?" he said, more to himself, "W-What just happened? What on earth happened?"

"Hey... Wasn't that just...?" Asahina muttered.

"Y-Yea... That was Alter Ego..." Hagakure stuttered, finishing her thought.

"I knew it wasn't Naegi!" Togami scowled.

I sighed and looked away, knowing this was all my fault. He would've died if Alter Ego hadn't intervened.

"Don't tell me... he planted a virus?!" Monokuma continued talking to himself, "He must've done it when he infiltrated my network!" Monokuma then placed his face onto the podium he was hunched over, and in the next instant, he was smashing his head into it and against the chalkboard. "Darn it!" he cried, continuing to bang his head, "He pulled a fast one on me!"

I looked up again to speak. "It looks like things didn't go according to plan." I said, hiding my relief.

Monokuma looked up, his round glasses misshapen and the glass fragments almost all out. "Are you sure about that?" he said grimly. Turning back to the place where Naegi disappeared to, he added "Slowly wastin' away in a garbage-filled basement may be the most draining punishment yet! Buhahahaha!" He began laughing again, his cackles filling the air.

My heart twisted at the fact he would die after Alter Ego just saved him. I kept a straight face as I stared at the spot where Naegi had last been seen. _What have I done...?_


	2. Retreat

Kirigiri slowly walked back to her dorm, her feet dragging against the cold floor. Asahina had been walking next to her the whole way, clearly concerned.

"Are you sure you're okay, Kirigiri?" Asahina had constantly prodded her with the same question.

"I'm fine," she would always reply, each repeated response sounding a bit more insistent than the previous.

As she reached her dorm, she remembered she needed her room key. Asahina placed her hand on the silverette's shoulder, surprising her.

"Naegi's key should be at the front of the school with the other electroIDs now if you wanted to stay somewhere for the night," she suggested with a smile.

She knew she had a key to open her room with – the master key – but she can't let Asahina know about it. She nodded at the idea and began to walk towards the front of the school. However, Asahina followed her, which was a bit of a pain. She just wanted to walk away until Asahina entered her room to use the master key, but she was sticking by the mysterious side. She opened the small drawer in the entrance area to the small plastic box, and to her surprise, Naegi's room key had already been placed there with the past students'.

She went to pick up the key, her hand starting to shake as she realized whose it actually was. Naegi had been there for her, trusted her, and investigated with her ever since this school life actually started, and she had accused him for my own gain, threw him under the bus. She _abandoned_ him.

"Kirigiri?" Asahina said, and the young girl next to the brunnette realized she had frozen. "You could always stay in my room if you'd li—"

"No, its fine," she interrupted. With a sigh, she added, "I'm sorry, there's just a lot of stuff on my mind right now..."

"I understand," Asahina said, "When Sakura passed, I couldn't stop thinking about her, and with how close you and Naegi were it must be tough."

She stared at her as the swimmer spoke. Looking down, she realized that Asahina was right. She nodded as thanks and walked back to the dorms, Asahina following right behind her. As she entered Naegi's dorm, Asahina continued past towards her own room.

Kirigiri closed the door. Turning around, she remembered the times she had spent in here. Maizono's murder, the talks she had with Naegi, the time she saved his life...

She sighed. She couldn't stop thinking about him. Well, to be honest, she thought about him quite often; His encouraging smile, his beautiful jade eyes, his adorable ahoge, and most of all, his optimism, even in the situation they were in. She had no idea why he was on her mind so much.

She walked over and sat onto his bed. The familiar scent still lingered in the room, even though he had been in here a few hours before. The question of how he was actually doing suddenly crossed my mind. Was he still alive? After the fall he must've taken, I would be surprised if he was.

She shook her head. _Quit thinking like that!_ she thought to herself._ You're the one who would've killed him if he is dead because of your selfishness!_

Lying onto his bed, she let out a long sigh. There must be something she can do. Something to help Naegi, no, _save_ him. She has to.

Naegi opened his eyes slowly, his vision slowly focusing on the setting around him. He suddenly let out a gasp as he saw himself surrounded by a foul odor and heaps of trash. However, at the time, it all seemed upside down until he sat back upright.

"Where am I..." he muttered. Memories of the near death experience flashed through his mind as if in response to his aimless question. "That's right... Alter Ego saved me..." Pushing himself up with his arms, he added, "Guess he was saying I shouldn't give up!"

He ran up to the giant door towering over a small flight of stairs. He pushed it to open, but it simply rattled in place.

"It looks like getting out won't be that easy," he sighed.

He began rummaging through the piles of garbage for anything to eat or drink that wasn't past its expiry date. His eyes glimmered as he found an apple core, but muttered "It's rotten..." as he tossed it behind him. When he found a bottle of water, he held it up in the dim light to see if it was actually clear. "And the water's gone sour..." he mumbled.

Looking up, he stared into the dark hole. The ceiling was impossible to see, especially in the harsh low lighting. "I'll never give up as long as I'm alive!" he shouted, hoping Monokuma could hear him. The only response was the echo of his voice.

Sighing, he slowly walked back to the empty space in the middle. "I should conserve my strength for now..." he mumbled, grabbing some old newspapers and a tarp. He laid the tarp onto the ground and lied down, using the newspapers as a blanket. Before he shut his eyes, he suddenly remembered how he ended up there. Kirigiri had falsely accused him of murder, leading almost to his death. He had trusted her, confided in her, and most of all loved her. _Why did she blame me?_ He thought as he closed his eyes, _Had it all been an act, like with Celes? I thought she trusted me... Kirigiri..._ why...?

-

**A/N I'm still thinking of dropping this, so if anything, this'll probably be the last chapter if anything :/ Unless this gets any appreciation.**


	3. Remember

Naegi and Kirigiri were outside of the school, the whole "life of mutual killing" was over, and the world was peaceful. Naegi was sitting next to her in the grass under the star filled sky. They were laughing and sharing fun stories together. He happened to have his hand on hers. Although it's a little embarrassing to share, it was just like she had always wanted with him. Him and her at peace.

Suddenly, a fence was brought up between them; the same fence from the executions. Naegi was pulled back by a sudden conveyor belt and the piston from his execution arose from the ground, making everything shake. Naegi was tied on the ground, getting closer and closer to the trash compactor, screaming Kirigiri's name.

Kirigiri was clutching to the fence, tears accumulating in her eyes, when she noticed something beside her.

The control panel.

She stared at it in horror as she realized what was happening. She was controlling the execution. She was going to be responsible for his death.

The young girl frantically tried to press the buttons, but no matter what she pressed, it made the conveyor belt move faster and faster, until...

"Kirigiri!"

A voice brought her out of her nightmares. Thank goodness.

Kirigiri slowly stood up from her bed to realize her face seemed wet. Feeling her forehead, she noticed a layer of sweat had accumulated while she slept. _I'll clean my face later_, she thought.

She walked over to the door, opening it to find a worried Asahina.

"Finally," she sighed, "I was worried something had happened to you. I've been knocking for five minutes!"

"Sorry," Kirigiri replied, "I was sleeping."

The beginning of the dream began to replay in her head. The calm air, the starry sky, Naegi and her—

"Earth to Kirigiri!"

"Huh?" she couldn't help the surprised yelp from her mouth. She could feel her cheeks were warmer after starting to remember the dream, but she hid it under her mask.

Asahina sighed. "I was asking if you had a rough sleep last night."

"Well, I had a bit of trouble falling asleep, but I stayed asleep the rest of the night," she admitted. _Although I wish I hadn't_, she added silently. She kept quiet about her dream. If she told Asahina about the first part, she wouldn't hear the end of it.

"Oh, good! I was worried about you being unable to settle considering it is Naegi's room you slept in," she said grinning.

Oh, right. She had slept in Naegi's room. She had forgotten.

Suddenly, the thought of how Naegi actually was popped into her mind. He probably wasn't able to find anything to eat or drink down there. Worry clutched onto her heart.

"Are you sure you're alright, Kirigiri?" Asahina prompted her out of her thoughts again. She must have shown it in her face her concern over Naegi.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said, quickly hiding any emotion again, "I just had a bad dream I can't get off my mind, that's all." It wasn't a total lie. She was mainly worried sick about Naegi. "I'll be heading to the cafeteria as soon as I've gotten dressed," she added, dismissing the topic.

"Oh, okay," Asahina seemed convinced, "Be sure to head to the cafeteria when you're ready, Kirigiri!" And with that, she bounded off.

Kirigiri sighed as she shut the door. She closed the door behind her and walked back to the bed. My jacket was laid neatly on the chair by the desk and my shoes were underneath. I looked towards the bathroom. She felt sort of bad for invading his room like this, but knowing Naegi, he wouldn't mind... right?

She walked over to the bathroom, turning the door knob. However, when she pushed it, it didn't open. It couldn't be locked, considering this was a boy's bathroom, which weren't equipped with locks. She turned it the other way, but it did nothing. She inspected the door frame next. She remembered how Naegi had mentioned his door was improperly fitted during the first class trial, so she tried a trick she seemed to remember from previous years of work before the school. Slowly turning the door handle, she lifted the door with the handle and pushed inwards. It opened without any resistance, and she noted the neatly organized bathroom. _He sure does do a good job with organizing_, she thought to herself.

After finicking with the door and then closing it behind her, she stepped into the shower stall when she had finished removing her clothing. She ignored the fact that this was the place where Maizono had died. The fact that this was _Naegi's_ shower appeared into her head, but she quickly dismissed the thought with rosy cheeks. She washed her hair and body from the sweat residue left on her from her restless sleep and spent a few minutes to think about what would happen from now on. The mastermind had planned on getting rid of her in the beginning, so he would give up trying. However, now they didn't know who the mastermind was, since they had believed the body they found to be Mukuro Ikusaba's. Kirigiri knew she had to be extra vigilant for the next strike.

Then there was Naegi. She was taking his soon-to-be death hard. Although she didn't show it, she was struggling to keep him off her mind.

She splashed water on her face before violently shutting off the water. _Stop it_, she thought angrily, curling her hands into fists against the handles, _Stop thinking about him. Why do I keep thinking about him?_

After changing into her usual attire, she walked out of the bathroom, brush in her right hand and a towel wrapping her light purple hair. Sitting on the bed, she carefully untwisted the towel and brushed her lilac hair and braided the pieces together, holding the end as she wrapped a black elastic around it. She then tied the top of the braid with her black ribbon.

Adjusting her tie on her blouse, the young girl got up and walked out of the room, turning towards the cafeteria. Entering into the room, she was greeted by Asahina and Hagakure. Everyone was seated at the large table, except for Togami, who was at the nearby smaller table, eating breakfast. She went into the kitchen and grabbed an apple before returning to sit at her usual spot.

"Hey 'Giri!" Hagakure called.

She didn't respond, instead taking a bite out of her apple.

They sat there in semi-awkward silence, finishing their breakfasts and returning to the table once they had cleaned up, including Kirigiri. Suddenly, Asahina spoke up.

"It's a lot quieter now that Naegi's gone..." she muttered, more to herself than to anyone in particular.

Kirigiri clenched her fists at the mention of his name.

"W-w-what do we do, n-now?" Fukawa stammered

"Just... Keep living, I guess, dudes." Hagakure guessed.

_ This doesn't count as living if we kill each other to survive!_ Kirigiri Imagined Naegi would say something like that, feeling an urge to voice her thoughts, but she held her tongue.

"I don't care what you peasants do." Togami sneered. "I'm going upstairs to read." And with that, he walked out.

"W-w-wait f-for me, Byakuya-Sama!" Fukawa cried, shuffling off of her chair and scurrying after him.

"Well, looks like it's just the three-" Hagakure began, but stopped when Kirigiri stood up from her seat and started to leave the room.

"Or not..." Asahina added.

Kirigiri continued to strut past them when suddenly her vision blurred and an overwhelming dizziness washed over her. She stumbled to the side, leaning onto the door for support. Her head was spinning, but a second later, it stopped.

"Kirigiri!" Asahina jumped up and ran to her side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She snapped, irritated for allowing herself to look weak.

Asahina was taken aback from the sudden backlash. "O-oh, okay..." She muttered, slinking back to her seat.

Kirigiri quickly retreated to Naegi's room and sat on the bed. She turned her back to the security camera, and carefully removed her glove from her burned hand, and placed her scarred palm on her forehead.

_ I don't have a fever_, she thought, putting her glove back on her hand.

She began to think back; maybe she had eaten something unsettling. But, instead of imagining a memory of the last time she ate before breakfast, an image of an area closed off by police tape appeared. There was a dead body sprawled on the front lawn of a house, blood staining the grass and two holes in the victim's back from bullet wounds. An officer was speaking to her, explaining the situation, the victim's known information, and asking for her to take a look.

She shook her head. _What was that?_ She wondered. She was seeing a scene like she was a detective, and although she felt it was familiar, she didn't understand why.

As she tried to remember again, a different memory popped into her mind. The memory of her standing outside of the gates to Hope's Peak Academy.

Then it faded into another memory; one she didn't remember; one where she was writing in a small brown notebook.

_Plan: Shelter_

_ A plan to turn Hope's Peak Academy into a shelter and have students live together._

_ To learn more about this plan, I have decided to go directly to the person who proposed it. I will take it up with my father, the principle of Hope's Peak Academy._

Kirigiri held her hand to her head. What was going on? She didn't remember any of this.

Suddenly, something in her mind clicked. She thought back to the memory of the crime scene. Then she thought about her work with all the previously passed students. At that moment, a conversation she had with Naegi returned into her head.

"Kirigiri, you're amazing!" he had said while she was examining Oogami's corpse.

"I'm sure that I worked with corpses before I came here," she replied, standing up from her inspection of Oogami's scalp.

"Huh?" Naegi uttered, confused.

"No, it's nothing," she had replied, dismissing the topic.

Working with corpses in the past... The memory of a crime scene... Her investigating throughout Hope's Peak... Her intellect in the trials... It was as if she was some sort of detective.

Kirigiri sat up straight, her hand shot down onto the bed. That was it! Her "Super High School Level" title must've had something to do with her skills in investigating and solving the mysteries of the school. She must've been... the Super High School Level Detective!

Now came for the other memory. She knew that she had come to Hope's Peak for a purpose, but she couldn't remember what. She knew it wasn't just to have a great education.

She thought back to her second memory. Did it have something to do with the shelter plan? No, that wouldn't make any sense. She was fairly happy at home.

Then she thought about the second part; her father. She had written down that she had planned to speak to her father about the plan to learn more about it, but could that be why she had come to Hope's Peak? It was true that she felt a strong hatred towards him for abandoning her at a young age, but was she trying to reconcile with him? No, she would never have it in her heart for something like that to a man who was merely related to her by blood but not by his love. He had left her out of his life. She must've been there to cut off all ties with him, finally removing him from her life.

All the memories she had been trying to remember, everything she had been struggling to show she truly didn't know, had all come back to her within a matter of minutes.

_ If I had died back at the trial, I would never have remembered this_, she thought, _If Naegi hadn't..._

She shot up out of her bed. Naegi. He was still down in the basement cellar with no water or food. If he hadn't taken her place—no, if she hadn't framed him in her place, and if he had objected to her, she never would've gotten this far in her mystery solving.

She knew what she had to do. She had to save Naegi. No matter what the cost, even if it takes her life.


End file.
